The present invention relates to an apparatus for facilitating the mixing of a liquid and a substance, such as solid particles. One embodiment of the invention comprises a beverage mixing cartridge that facilitates the mixing of a solid beverage medium, such as infant formula powder, in a liquid such as water or milk.
Cartridges adapted for brewing a single serving of coffee are known in the art. Such cartridges are typically comprised of a plastic housing that contains enough ground coffee to brew about one serving of coffee. The cartridge is typically positioned in a brewing apparatus that pierces the cartridge and injects an amount of hot water into the cartridge to produce a single serving of coffee. Such systems may be adequate to produce a satisfactory serving of coffee as the extremely hot water produced by the coffee brewing machines is conducive to mixing with the ground coffee. Also, coffee steeps, which makes it easier to produce a substantially homogenous beverage mixture. However, many beverages other than coffee, such as infant formula and soft drinks, are not steeped and are served at room temperature or colder. As the temperature of water or other liquid decreases, so does the solubility of most solids. As such, it can be particularly difficult to thoroughly disperse solid particles within a single serve beverage cartridge using water that is room temperature or colder.